Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric, carbonic, and
nitric acids, which fall to Earth as
acid rain, impacting both natural areas and the built environment. Monuments and sculptures made from
marble and limestone are particularly vulnerable, as the acids dissolve
calcium carbonate.
Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials, mainly
uranium and
thorium, which are released into the atmosphere. In 2000, about 12,000
tonnes of thorium and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were released worldwide from burning coal.
[SIZE=3][28][/SIZE] It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the
Three Mile Island incident.
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Burning coal also generates large amounts of
bottom ash and
fly ash. These materials are used in a wide variety of
applications, utilizing, for example, about 40% of the US production.
[SIZE=3][30][/SIZE]..................................Moreover, these environmental pollutions impacts on the human beings because its particles of the fossil fuel on the air cause negative health effects when inhaled by people. These health effects include premature death, acute respiratory illness, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis and decreased lung function. So, the poor, undernourished, very young and very old, and people with preexisting respiratory disease and other ill health, are more at risk.
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